William h



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. DRIGGS. PERCUSSION FUSE FOR PROJBGTILES.

No. 419,143. Patented Jan. 7,1890.

W fizeaaaa fnyerziar WiZ/iavz H317 5 /52 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H. BRIGGS. PERCUSSION FUSE FOR PROJBGTILES.

110.419.1 18. Patented Jan. 7,1890.

III

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DRIGGS, OF- WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MARY EDDY DRIGGS AND ELIZABETH HALE DRIGGS,

OF' SAME PLACE.

PERCUSSlON-FUSE FOR PROJECTILES.

BPEGH'ICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 419,143, dated January 7,1890. Application filed September 21,1889. .Serial No. 324,645. (No model.)

To all whom it inrty concern: Be it. known that 1, WILLIAM H. DRIGGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington,'-in the District of Columbia, have in- 5 vented certain new and useful Improvements in Percussion-Fuses for Projectiles; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willienable others skilled in the art L to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates, generally, to fuses for explosive projectiles, and particularly to improvements in that class thereof which is known as percussion-fuses, in which the hammers or plnngers contained within the stocks or casings thereof have hitherto gen erally been heldin place by frictional spring action or force until the sudden stoppage of 'the flight of the projectiles released and permitted them to m0ve forward and strike against and explode the caps or fulminates, the fire or sparks therefrom being transmitted to the interiors of said projectiles and cans- '25 ing explosion of their charges; and it consists of the novel constructions and arrangements or combinations of parts hereinafter fully'disclosed in the description, drawings, and claims.

The objects of my invention are, first, to

provide percussion-fuses with novel and improved springs by which the hammers or plungers of said fuses are held normally stationary in their stocks or casings and released 5 during the flight of the projectiles by centrifugal force; second, to provide percussionfuses with novel and improved springs by which the peculiarly-constructed hammers or plungers of said fuses are held normally sta- 0 tionary in their stocks or casings or away from the caps or fulminatesuntil they are set free by the expansion of. said springs by centrifugal force, which is due to the rapid twisting or spinning:1notion of projectiles when dis,

charged'from rifled guns or ordnance, this expansion of the springs permitting the plungers to move forward and come into contact with and explode the caps or f ulminates when the projectiles come into forcible impact with the resisting objects or mediums at which they are directed; third, to providelpercussion-fuses with novel and improved devices for normally holding their plungers stationary in their casings or, out of contact with their caps or fulminates, so that they will be safe 5 5;

'for handling and transportation or not liable to explosion from ordinary degrees of concussion; fourth, to provide improvements in percussion-fuses which will enable them to act with equal'efliciency when they are placed either in the front or rear ends of shells or projectiles; fifth, to provide improvements in the parts of fuses which are capable of being or adapted to be applied to some of-the fuses now in'use, and, sixth,to provide certain other novel constructions and arrangements or combinations of parts, as hereinafter fully described and claimed. These objects are'accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of 4 -this specification, in which the same reference-numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts, and in which Figure 1 represents a longitudinal central section of my preferred form of percussionfuse; Fig 2, a detail side elevation of the hammer or plhnger; Fig. 3,a transverse sectional view of this fuse, the section being taken on the line a; a: of Fig. 1, looking toward the base or rear end of the casing; Fig. 4, a detail per- 8o spective view of the spring used in this fuse; Fig. 5, a longitudinal central section of a slightly-modified form of my improved fuse, the same being adapted for use in the front end of a shell or projectile; Fig. '6, a similar 8 View of another modified form of my improved fuse; Fig. 7, a detail perspective view of the spring employed in connection there with 3 Fig. 8, a sectional view and sideelevation of a modified form of safety pin or plate for this form of fuse; Fig. 9, a transverse sectional view of the plunger, the section being taken on the line z z of Fig. (5, looking toward the rear end thereof; and Fig. 10, aninner face view of one of the halves of the two- 5 part plunger.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the stock or casing of the f use, which is screwthreaded along its rear portion 2 and closed at its rear end by a solid base-piece 3, from which projects the annular rib or flange 4:; also, in the rear surface of this base-piece is formed a square or other polygonally-shaped recess 5, into which a wrench-pin or other suitable instrument of corresponding shape is to be introduced for inserting said stock or easing into and removing the same from the rear end of the projectile, which, as usual, is formed with a screw-threaded opening.

The front end of the stock or casing of the fuse is open and formed with screw-threads 6, for receiving and removablyretaining the correspondingly screw-threaded anvil 7, as usual, which, as shown, is also formed with a 1 5 square .or similarly-shaped recess 5 in its front or outer face for receiving a wrench-pin or similar device for operating said anviland conveniently securing the same to and re moving it from the front end of, said stock or are casing. If desired, the rear end of the stock or casing and the front end of the anvil may be cut away or made to form polygonallyshaped surfaces for the'application of suitable wrenches, as usual, for-the same purposes. 4 The inner face of. the anvil is formed with a screw-threaded central circular recess 8, which communicates with a small duct 9, leadingout through the front face of said anvil, all for the purposes hereinafter stated.-

VVit-hin the stock or casing is arranged the hammer or plunger 10, which, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is formed cylindrical in shape and of reduced diameter along its rearportion, where it is provided with an annular .5 groove 11, and also with an annular fiange12, vIwhich normally rests against the rear wall of thelopening in said casing. In the periphery of this plunger, at directly-opposite points, are formed longitudinal rearwardly-converg out grooves 13, and its front end is provided withoneor more contact-pointsl l, the purposes and functions of these features being hereinafter fully explained.

To the inner face of the anvil 7 the plunger 5 holdingandreleasing' spring 15 is secured in any suitable manner. As shown-in Figs. 1

and 4,this.spring is provided at its front end with an annular plate or disk 1b, which is formed with a central'opening 17 and with a "central forwardly-projecting tubular neck 18, which is exteriorly screw-threaded, secured in the correspondingly screw-threaded recess 8, formed in the inner face of the anvil, and adapted to hold the cap or fulminate 1 9 in place after it has been inserted in said recess. From directly opposite points of the periphcry of the disk 16 extend two elastic or spring fingers 20, which project rearwardly and slightly converge toward each other along 6 their rear portions. At their rear or free theenlarged and curved flanges 21, which are heavier than the body portions of said weight than the body portions of said spring-L I lends these spring-fingers are provided with fingers is that when they are under the influence of centrifugal force, due to the rapid whirling or spinning motion of the projectile during its flight from a rifled piece of ordnance, they will more readily move outward from the annular groove 11 and straighten said spring-fingers in the side grooves 13 of the plunger, and thus permit the latter to move forward and by means of the contactpoint or pointsll explode the cap or fulminate when the projectile comes into contact with an opposing" medium. The object I have in view in using one'or more of these contact-points is to provide for the employlnent'of either center or rim fire caps or .fulmin-ates.

It will be obvions'that this form of my improved percussion-fuse, constructed as shown anddescribed, will be entirely free from ac cidental explosion both before and after its application to a projectile, as the plunger 10 is normally held securely away 'fromthe cap 19 by the curved flanges 21 of the spring-fingers resting within the annular groove 11 at the rear end of said plunger; that the springfin'gers 2O fit snugly within the grooves 13 in the opposite sides of said plunger, prevent the same from revolving independently of the casing, and guide the same and its contactpoint or points 14, when released, directly forward against said cap; that said plunger is a set free or released to move forward by the expansion of the spring-fingers to points on a direct line with the inner surfaceof-the casing, this expansion being effected by the cen;

trifugal force imparted to said spring-fin gers through the rapid whirling or spinning motion imparted to the projectile by its discharge from a rifled" piece of ordnance; that the plunger, after having been released by the centrifugal force imparted to the springfingers and their heavy curved flanges, does not move forward to strike and explode the cap until the advancing projectile comes into contact with an opposing medium or object, and that as soon as the contact point or points of the plunger strike the cap'the fire or sparks therefrom will pass through the small duct in the center of the anvil, ignite the charge contained in the shell or projectile, and explode the latter.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings is illustrated an embodiment of my invention which is applicable to percussion-fuses designed to -bc employed in the front ends or points of projectiles. In this construction of my invention the rear portion 2 of the stock or casing 1 is made plain and formed in its rear end with the central recess 5, while the forward portion thereof 22 is screw-threaded and provided with the annular flange 12; also, the opening at the front end of said casing is screwthreaded for a short distance rearward for the purpose of receiving and holding the correspondingly-screw-threaded anvil '7, which is made solid and formed with the square or similarly-shaped recess 5 in its outer or front face, for the purpose hereinbefore explained. In this modification of my invention the innet face of the anvil is formed with a transverse groove 23, within which is fitted and suitably secured the transverse portion of the.

"recess 8 for receiving the cap or fnlminate -19. Also communicating with this recess is the small central duct 9, which extends entirely through the rear portion of said plunger, registers with the recess 5 in the rear end of the casing, and .conveys the fire or sparks from the cap or ulminate to the explosive charge within the projectile. In this form of my invention Ipreferably employ a rim-fire cap .or f ulmiuat-e, and for this reason two contact-points 14 are arranged opposite the closed end of the rimof said cap and are preferably formed as. parts of the transverse portion of the spring 15;'but, as is obvious, at single contact-point is all that need be used for center-fire caps.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings is ill strated another embodim'ent or modificatio of my invention, in which the principle or mode of operation is the same as that incident tothe forms of fuses shown in Figs. 1 and 5, and in which the casing 1, the anvil 7, and the-plunger 10 are arranged in the same manner as in the preferred form of my fuse, (shown in Fig. 1,) but in which there are the following differences in the construction of the parts forming the same: The plunger is of the shape .'as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, formed in theinner faces of the two parts of said plunger. Over the edges of these grooves for a portion of their length project the-fianges'21", which operate to hold the spring-fingers 20 slightly loose within said grooves, so as .to permit them to move back and forth therein to a limited extent and to bend slightly at their point of junction. This plunger is normally held from forward movement by a bolt or pin 24, provided with a screw-threaded shank 25, which is secured in a corresponding. hole formed in the base-piece 3 of the casing, and with a conicallyshaped barbed head 26 atits front end, which fits in a space of the same shape between the curved flanges of the spring-fingers. Interiorly of the casing, near its front end, is formed an annular-ledge 27,

against which is placed the disk 16, having the central opening 17,1eading to the circular recess 8 in the inner face of the anvil, which contains the cap or fulminate 19 and coinmunicates with the small duct 9, leading to the interior of the projectile. The disk 16 is held rigidly in place against the ledge 27 by the anvil 7 when thelatteris fully screwed into the front end of thecasing. The opening 17 with which this disk is formed has its surrounding wall slightly inwardly dished,

as at 28, for conforming to the shape of the cap or fulminat-e 19 and firmly-holding the same in place. This disk is also formed "or' provided with rearwardly-extending arms or guides 29, which are arranged to fit within the grooves 13 in the periphery .of the two part plunger, and thus cause the same to positively rotate with the casingdnring theflight of the projectile, in-the sarnemanner aswhen the spring fingers are fitted within saidgrooves, as in the other forms of my invention. However, I only employ these ribs or guides 29 when the conical barb-headed pin 26 is used for nornially securing the two-part plunger to the casing, as I sometimes prefer to dispense with them, and also with said conical barb-headed pin, and employ in lieu of the latter a barbed knife-edged plate 30 of the form shown in transverse section and in side elevation in Fig. 8 of' the drawings, and which may be provided with either a polygonal or screw-threaded shank 25, for securing it to the base-piece of the casing. Under the employment of this plate the proximate surfaces-of the two-part plunger are placed over its barbed knife-edge, which will cause said plunger -to positively rotate with the casing the same as when, theguides. or spring-fingers are employed. In this manner, whether the barbed pin'or the barbed plate be employed, thet-wo-part plunger will be compelled to rotate with the casing and projectile, and as it 'IIO does the centrifugal force will cause the spring-fingers to expand and release said plunger. Then the moment the' projectile strikes the opposing object the plunger will fly suddenly forward and cause its'two-part of being expanded and released from said plungers by centrifugal force; and, there fore,

Having thus fully described the construction andarrangement or combination of the several parts of my invention, the operation, andadvantages of the same, what I claim as new is 1. In a percussion-fuse, the combination,-

3. In a percussion-fuse, the combination,-

, with a casing and a movableplunge'r formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves, of aspring arranged to rest in said grooves or be released therefrom, and constructed and adapted to expand and directly release said plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

4. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with a casing and a movable plunger formed with longitudinal peripheral, grooves, of a stationary'spring located within said casing and constructed and adapted to expandand directly release said plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

5. In a percussiomfuse, the combination, with a casing and a movable plunger formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves, an anvil, a cap or fulminate, one or more contact: points for exploding the same, and means-for conveying the fire from said cap or fulminate to the charge within a shell or projectile, of a spring located within said casingand constructed and adapted to expand and directly release said plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as -described.

6. In a percussion-fuse, the "combination, with a casing and a movable plunger formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves, of a spring located within said casing. and provided with rearwardly projecting fingers adapted to enter said groove and constructed and adapted to expand and directly release said plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

7. In a percussion -fuse, the combination, with a casing and a movable plunger formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves, of a spring located within said casin g andprovided with rearwardly-projecting fingers which are adapted to enter said grooves and constructed and arranged to normally hold said plunger at 'or near its rear end by direct contact therewith andto expand and release the same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

8. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with a casing and a'movable plunger formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves, of a spring located within said casing and provided with rearwardly-.projecting fingers having heavy curved flanges and constructed and arranged to normally hold said plunger at or near its rear end by direct contact therewith and to expand and release the same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

9. In a pei'cussioirfuse, the combination of a casing and an anvil, the former being formed with a polygonal recess in its rear face and the latter with a recess of the same shape in its front face, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. In a percussion fuse, the combination, with a casing and an anvil containing a cap or fuln1inate, o,f a plunger having a contactpoint and a spring located within said casing and provided with rearzvardly-projecting fingers which are constructed and arranged to normally hold said plunger at or near its rear end by direct contact therewith and to expand and release thesame by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

11. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with the casing, the anvil, and the spring-fingers secured thereto, of? the plunger held between said spring-fingers, and formed with longitudinal peripheral grooves and also with an annular groove at or near its rear end, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a percussion-fuse; the combination, with the casing, the anvil formed with a central circular recess and a small duct communicating therewith, the cap or fulminate in said recess, and the plunger provided with a contact-point with longitudinal grooves and with an annular groove at or near its rear end, of the spring-fingers extending into said grooves and constructed and arranged to n01 mally hold said plunger stationary and to expand and release the same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

13. In a percussion-fuse, the combination,

with the casing, the anvil formed with a ecutral circular recess and a small duct communicating therewith, the cap located in said recess, and the spring secured to said anvil and provided with rearwardly-exten-.iing fingers having heavy curved flanges at their rear ends, of the plunger formed with a contact-point on its front end, with longitudinal grooves and with an annular groove at or near its rear end, in which said curved flanges of the spring-fingers engage and hold said plunger normally stationary, and which are adapted to expand and release said'plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

l4. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with the casing, the plunger formed with a contact-point at its front end, with an annular grooveat or near its rear end, and with longitudinal grooves in its periphery, and an anvil secured to said casing and formed with release said plunger by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described;

15. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with the casing, the plunger formed with a contact-point at its front end, with an annular groove at or near its rear end, and with rearwardly-converging longitudinal grooves in its periphery, and an anvil secured to said casing and formed with a circular recess and a small duet communicatingtherewith,and a cap or fulminate arranged within said recess, of a centrally-open disk secured to said anvil and provided with a central tubular neck fitting within the recess of said anvil and with rearwardly projecting spring fingers arranged withinthe longitudinal and annular grooves-of said plunger and having heavy curved flanges at their rear ends for holding said plunger normally stationary, and which are adapted to expand and release the. same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

16. In a percussion-fuse, the combination, with the casing, the plunger formed with a contact-point at its front end, with an annular groove at'or near its rear end, and with rearwardly-eonverging longitudinal grooves in its periphery, and an anvil secured to said casing and formed with a central screwthreaded recess and a small duct communieating therewith, and a cap or fullninate arranged within said recess, of a centrally-open disk provided with a screw-threaded neck fitting Within said recess and with rearwardly projecting spring-fingers having heavy cu rved flanges, which are respectively arranged within the longitudinal rearwardly-converging and annular grooves' of said plunger, and

' which are adapted for holding said plunger normally stationary and to expand and release the same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

17. In a percussion-fuse, a spring composed. of a centrally-open disk provided with rearwardly-extendi'ngfingers havingheavy curved flanges at their rear ends and constructed and adapted to directly hold a plunger and release the same by the action of centrifugal force, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. DRIGGS.

Witnesses:

TOM R. STUART, PARKER H. SWEET, J r. 

